


Figured You Out

by prompto



Category: Persona 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-21
Updated: 2013-09-21
Packaged: 2017-12-27 06:26:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/975525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompto/pseuds/prompto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Request Fanfic on Tumblr. The Midnight Channel airs a week after the capturing of Kubo. The peacefulness is broken, and the worries between two best friends come to the ultimate test when an unforeseen shadow appears. YuxYosuke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The past week had been eventful but a grateful relief to the team.

Kubo had been caught. The string of murders seemingly having been cut off from the source. Although the truth would remain hidden for a while longer, that didn’t stop the crew from relaxing a bit and just all around enjoying life.

School was lame. But it didn’t matter to Yosuke as he sat on the kitchen counter that Friday afternoon. They had been preparing dinner for when Nanako returned from being out with a friend from school. Dojima was more than likely not going to be home that evening given they had to finish up last minute paperwork with the progress on their case.

That left the two of them to have idle conversation, whether it be guy-talk or stupid jokes. The smiles that were present were real though, and that was the main thing that they both enjoyed when they were together.

“Dude, did you get that new Nickelback CD?”

“No. Remember, our music tastes are completely different.”

“You can’t tell me that you don’t like that one song Figured You Out.”

“I don’t even know how it goes.”

“I like your pants around your-“

Yu silenced the other by lifting a piece of the meal he had been preparing to pink lips that had been steadily moving to start a tune. The pressing of fingertips as Yosuke’s lips made him instantly stop, feeling caught between blushing in surprise and a suddenly strange feeling that was inwardly felt. He gladly took the piece of food, chewing it slowly as he tasted every bit of it on his tongue.

“So good.”

Although Yu had never minded his friend’s singing voice, he had a feeling that the lyrics were going to create an awkward feeling, and they already had. Seeing the blush that had radiated on fair-skin cheeks made him feel oddly content though. What was even stranger though was the fact that Yu hadn’t lowered his hand yet.

Yosuke still felt fingertips linger near his lips; he could feel them brush with every movement of his mouth. Yu looked to him as if to communicate something, and as they pressed more onto his lips he unconsciously started to lick at the tips of them. There had still been traces of sauce from the piece of food given to him, every drop of it was licked away, each swipe of his tongue tasting it. The sauce alone was tempting, and steel grey was staring at him in a way that made his stomach feel butterflies.

_The hell is going on here?_

Pulling his mouth away, he laughed lightly as Yu finally lowered his hand.

Staring down at the food, he then began to resume cutting up a few stray pieces of shrimp. A strange tension started after that, and Yu could feel it with how brown eyes were locked on him.

He hadn’t expected the other to practically suck on his fingers, but it wasn’t a touch that was disliked either. They had always interacted differently versus the rest of the group. Though their actions might’ve seemed odd and out of place for just friends, it was just a normalcy they had. A closeness, that was never to be treaded over.

But, Yosuke could already tell his thoughts were whirling into the wrong aspect.

_I actually did that? Sucked on his fingers like I wanted to-No, it was nothing. I was just getting the sauce off like he wanted, right?_

It was weird to him how his body had moved on its own accord. Though the action was innocent enough, it still made Yosuke feel like he had crossed the line a little. It made him worry a little more when he found that he had actually enjoyed doing it when he thought back on it more thoroughly.

_I just liked the sauce. That stuff is freaking amazing anyway._

Yeah. He just liked the sauce. _**That was it.**_

The tension slowly dissipated as Yosuke calmed himself down. But later that evening, when they finally were eating, Yu innocently enough had sat a little closer than usual. Yosuke took notice, and he didn’t move away, not a single inch.

He had admitted that he liked receiving attention from the guy. It was easy enough to like being around Yu since he just provided the comfortable vibe, like you could be yourself around him and he wouldn’t give a shit. It was a little alarming to his thoughts again though when he felt a finger brush over the side of his mouth.

“You got some sauce…”

The rest of the words faded out as he realized how close the other leaned to him too.

“Such a messy eater.”

Yosuke felt his heart stop when he was so caught up in staring into grey eyes that he forgot to breathe or reply. Nothing was said for an entire minute, and neither of them moved. It was as Yu let his finger move back at those lips again to get the one spec of sauce off that Yosuke parted his lips without hesitation.

As if to re-enact the same situation from earlier, Yosuke let his tongue run over the tip, licking the sauce away. He could feel the finger starting to move further into his mouth but it was quickly withdrawn as the front door was heard being unlocked.

 

“Onii-chan!”

Nanako dropped her bag and ran over to hug Yu who was now seated properly in his own area again. She smiled brightly over at the other occupant of the table before she plopped down on the floor beside Yu.

“Nanako-chan, we were wondering when you’d be getting home.”

Yosuke tried to sound as normal as possible while fighting with his thoughts that were in mid-freak out mode.

_The fuck? What the fuck am I doing? What is he doing? I’m so fucking lost and why am I-_

He could feel the stirring in the lower half of his body and it had worried him greatly.

Yu appeared to be as normal as usual. But Yosuke had to continue eating everything possible in order to keep himself distracted from over-thinking. It felt like the longest dinner, and whenever they finished Yosuke was standing at the front door.

“So I’ll uh, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Don’t forget your umbrella.”

“I won’t forget man.”

That night, Yu was left alone to his thoughts.

He had decided to shut them down while in the presence of his best friend. But it was as he was lounged out on the couch, his new book in hand, that the time had just struck midnight. He hadn’t known it, since everything had settled down in the past week, and his whole mind was more so trying to focus on the words on the page versus the fingers that had been in a warm mouth earlier.

The soft sound of a TV buzzing on made him instantly sit up, dropping the book in the process.

Yellow tinted the screen in the usual manner as before, and slowly things made grey eyes go completely wide. There had been a faint outline of a figure, the similarities were striking, and you’d only be able to tell who it was if you were staring directly at the screen and rather close.

It sent a shiver through his body when he realized who it was.

So many questions came to mind, no answers forming as he felt his world starting to unravel. Maybe it was just a hoax? Maybe it was just a coincidence? He hadn’t faced himself yet like the rest of the group, but in that split second his figure had been on the screen.

He could only pray that no one else had seen it. The sound of his phone ringing made him know that wasn’t true though.

“Man, what the hell? I thought we were done with this, and now you’re on the Midnight Channel?”

“I know.”

“I thought you didn’t have a shadow self though, like I thought you were just not, shit I don’t know.”

“Let’s just calm down. It’s probably nothing.”

“You serious? Anyone who’s shown up on the damn channel has gotten thrown into the TV somehow.”

“It might just be my shadow or something; it could be doing it on its own.”

Yosuke went silent for a moment as he seemed to be taking that into account.

“Maybe.”

“If none of the others know, don’t tell them.”

“What? I can’t do that man! What if this gets serious?”

“Then you can tell them.”

A loud sigh of frustration was heard. “Fine. But maybe I should stay over with you for a few days in case something does happen.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ve got more than enough personas in my arsenal if something does happen.”

A surprising laugh was heard at that. “Yeah that’s true. All right man well just, be careful. Make sure your door is locked and stuff.”

“I’ll be fine.”

When the conversation ended, all Yu could do was stare at the phone in his hands.

Even though he’d **never** express it, deep down, he was worried too.

Because he knew what his inner feelings were, and the more they were suppressed the worse it got.

I like your pants around your feet  
And I like the dirt that’s on your knees  
And I like the way you say please  
While you’re looking up at me  
You’re like my favorite damn disease


	2. Chapter 2

Yosuke forgot his umbrella.

The rain was already pouring down that morning. He had made his usual morning walk to his friend’s house, and about halfway in the trip he felt a single raindrop hit his arm. It only grew worse a few steps later, and he had to run through the streets with his school bag overhead as a lame excuse for a guard against the rain.

When he reached the front door, his fingers were itching to ring the doorbell, but as he went to do so the door swung open.

“Good morn-“

Yu cut himself off mid-sentence as he stared at the sight of the other completely soaked.

With a sigh, and a shake of his head, the grabbed another umbrella from the small closet nearby before exiting the house.

“Thanks man.”

Yosuke figured he’d dry off enough in the fifteen minute walk they had to get to school. But the umbrella was proving to be a great help for him not possible catching a cold in the process. The rain had also proven to be a decent distraction given the craziness that had occurred the night before.

They hadn’t really said much even five minutes into their walk. Normally they would be chatting about anything that came to mind, but it seemed as if they were both locked in their own thoughts, mostly regarding the very strange instance from not even seven hours ago.

Yu had been restless, though his face didn’t show an ounce of him losing sleep. With his expertise in being so stoic it almost hurt, he was able to place that every-day mask on his face to show that nothing was bothering him. Though, deep down, he had been a worried mess ever since the TV had fizzled on at midnight.

“So…nothing weird happened last night?”

“Not a thing.”

“Ahaha good, I don’t want you getting kidnapped by the boogie man or anything.”

The attempt to lighten the mood ended up being lame in even Yosuke’s mind and he was mentally kicking himself for it. He knew their leader was more than capable of handling himself, but that never stopped making him worry about the other’s well-being. More so because they had grown so close, it’d was unthinkable to even imagine life without him...if something happened...

Yosuke had to shake his head, stray drips of water scattering as he tried to refocus his thoughts on normalcy.

“Don’t worry about me. You should be more worried about practice today.”

The thought of basketball practice was already making Yosuke ache in pain.

The day flew by rather quickly despite the ever-present downpour of rain. The storm kept them from being able to sit on the rooftop while eating lunch as they did every school day. It was strange, sitting in the hallways at school. The way they sat on the floor, it caused them to be even closer than when they were sitting on the rooftop with just their legs brushing together at random moments.

In the hall, they sat on the tile floor, both legs and shoulders closer together than what was normal for them. Of course, the line had already been crossed more than once the night before which Yosuke was still trying not to think about along with the impending idea that his best friend might have a shadow that was intent on causing trouble.

All of the heavy thoughts were pushed aside though as soon as he took a bite into the delicious meal that never failed to impress his taste buds. The sound he made when he bit into the fried shrimp was close to that of a moan. It was certainly a noise that Yu had never heard before and it made him look over at his friend curiously.

“Like it?”

“Moar lyke luff eet.”

Yu couldn’t help but to laugh lightly as he let his mind remain tied as closely to the realms of innocence as possible. The slight blush on the other’s face though from when he had realized what noise he had made didn’t help that much.

They had merely been playing around the night beforehand, but Yu knew that his actions had been spurred by something. It was a something that hadn’t been labeled, and it was also something that he consistently pushed away since they both enjoyed the simple, comfortable, and relaxing dynamic of their friendship.

But, the sight of his shadow worried him, simply because, it meant that he had something pent away to the point of having it revealed in fifty different ways of violence, cruelty, and maliciousness.

“Shit man, we’ve only got a few minutes left.”

“Don’t choke-“

Yosuke had taken a bite of a rice ball and was in mid-choke as he tried to devour his food quickly before the bell rang. Yu was already slapping on his back to help him swallow properly.

The last few hours of lectures were boring as usual, but the stupid texts that were shared easily made them more than bearable. When basketball practice finally came around, Yosuke was clearly dreading it.

He’d only joined the team after he had been riled into playing at one of the games. The team was already short on players, and since his best friend was on it he thought he’d give it a go. It beat just being alone on the days the other had practice.

“That’s all for today guys. We’ll cover more when we have new plays prepared for the next game.”

The small team that was present was dismissed. The showers were filled with steam shortly afterward. Locker doors slammed, a few people exiting in the process. Two lone members stood in their personal showers towards the end of the line. Half the showers had been broken and had yet to be fixed, so that left quite a gap in the run of showers available in the locker room.

“See you later.” Kou waved to the two that were now left alone in the locker room.

Both teens waved, calling out their goodbyes in turn just before they resumed focusing on their own time in the shower.

Yosuke was finding it harder than usual to shower off quickly and get dressed. He was peering through the small amount of steam from the hot shower, seeing the traces of muscles on the other’s arms; leading down to his chest, and thankfully the wall in between was covering the rest. The sight alone was making him hotter than he already was, face flushed from the embarrassment of actually openly gawking at the sight of his best friend wet and very naked in the shower…

_Dude what the fuck, I need to just stop. **Stop it**._

Returning his attention to the shower head above him, the water fell on his body, and he silently wished that he could stand a cold shower right now to sooth away the inappropriate thoughts starting to form in his mind. He didn’t like guys; it just wasn’t something he was into. Personal choice. And he had learned to forego the oddness if someone around him was possibly gay. But, he felt nothing but doubts start to tackle over any idea of him not liking a guy, well not any guy, just, the one in the stall next to him.

“Need me to scrub your back?”

“D-Dude, no, just, what?”

“You’re taking forever to just wash your hair.”

Yosuke sputtered while fumbling to grab the shampoo bottle off the small counter between their stalls.

“I just felt a little faint from the hot water, uh yeah.”

Yu didn’t seem to buy it but he didn’t press the matter either. Moving to turn the knob to shut off his shower, he then stepped out and grabbed his towel to wrap around his waist.

_Fuck, shit, why is this happening? He’s my best friend, and oh god why is he looking at me like that?_

Yosuke felt a shudder pass through his body even with the hot water pouring down on him. He had to close his eyes in that instant to avoid shampoo from getting in them, and his hands were washing his hair much rougher than usual. It made him nervous, knowing that grey eyes were watching his every movement.

“Taking your time?”

Feeling utterly thankful that the last remnants of shampoo was out of his hair, he managed to shut off his shower after that and grab his towel to cover himself up properly before stepping out of the stall. Those eyes were still on him, and it felt like they were taking in all of him.

“You know I’m slow.”

Yu rolled his eyes, a half-smile on his lips as he turned to head towards his bag that held his clothes.

_You just find him attractive. It’s okay to admit your best friend is attractive, just like a compliment? Yeah._

Yosuke fought with himself the rest of the time that they got dressed, hiding himself with quick turns and trying not to stare too much as the other stood there shirtless, or the way his lips were moving in concentration when he tied his shoes.

They exited the locker room, returning to the normal atmosphere outside which he felt thankful for. But it was as they reached the front gate of the school that his phone rang and he answered it only for it to be a dreaded call from his father telling him to come into work.

“I’m sure you can find your way home without me.”

“I’ll be fine. Make sure Teddie doesn’t find his way into the women’s fitting rooms again.”

“Oh God, why’d you have to remind me of that?”

Yosuke was already seriously dreading heading into work and having to deal with the antics of his annoying roommate/comrade/person he didn’t want to see right now, he’d prefer staying with his best friend.

As Yu headed home on his own, he could only stare up at the sky and try not to remember how the heat had felt on his skin. The way brown eyes looked over at him while they were in their own nakedness. It made him _feel_ that feeling and _think_ those thoughts and he had to force himself to stop.

“ _Just stop_.”

Yu muttered lowly to himself just as he reached the doorstep of the house. His key slid in the lock easily, turning it, stepping inside, and shutting it behind him with a firm relocking of the door. As he stared at the darkened room in front of him, he felt an instant chill run down his spine.

Something was off. The room was normally dark from the curtains being drawn together, but this was a shade darker than usual. The atmosphere was tense, and it was almost suffocating him all of the sudden. He dropped his school bag, falling down to one knee, his hand reached up and ran onto his forehead as he felt a pressure in his head and almost easing into his mind.

The last thing that flashed through his head was brown eyes, brown hair, and every aspect that made up his best friend.

The last thing he saw was Yosuke before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Yosuke had felt like he was never going to get home that night.

The store had been trashed by the customers, and having to straighten it all out while being short-staffed was even worse. Half the staff had to be back there early in the morning just to finish putting out the shipment that they didn’t have time to put out on the shelves since they had gotten so busy on the sales floor.

By the time his bike skidded to a stop outside of his house, it was already almost eleven that evening.

By the time he had gone through his normal routine after returning home from a night’s work, he was lounging in his desk chair at ten till twelve.

He had a plate of some leftovers on his desk, gradually devouring it since he was starved. The last thing he had eaten that day was a delicious meal by his best friend. Speaking of which, he hadn’t heard anything from him since earlier that day.

Yosuke took a bite of rice, looking over at his phone nearby. He figured the guy was probably just busy folding paper cranes again or spending time with Nanako since they hadn’t been able to much lately. It felt like they had finally been given a free vacation of sorts without having to venture into the TV world anymore.

“Yoooosukeeeee!”

That annoying tone of voice made him cringe as he barely swallowed some rice before staring over at the doorway to see blonde hair.

“What is it Ted?”

“I wanna watch my show!”

“Well go watch it downstairs, I’m about to watch mine.”

“F-F-Fine!” Teddie disappeared, the sound of footsteps trampling down the stairs made him thankful that neither of his parents had returned home yet.

Rolling his eyes, he didn’t mean to sound super annoyed but he was still unreeling from the stressful night at work. As he finished the last bite of his meal, he grabbed the controller, turning up the TV as the re-run of his favorite show was about to come on.

The sudden sound of lightning struck outside. Any prospect of him viewing the TV was ruined seconds later as the power went out. A downpour of rain pounded onto the rooftop, easily letting Yosuke know that a storm just hit Inaba given how he was on the second floor of the house.

“Holy fuc-“

The obscenity was cut off as his TV suddenly fizzled on. Unlike the night before, everything was crystal clear. It made his heart lurch, and he suddenly felt his hand grabbing for his phone. Just as he was about to dial his best friend’s number, it was already too late.

“Hello ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to _Never Alone_.”

Cheesy over-dramatic music started up just as a familiar figure appeared on-screen dressed in a white suit, and as the gaze filled the screen gold-eyes had been replaced with steel-grey.

“In this week’s episode, I’ll be undergoing the search for the love of my life. Will I find it in my nurse Serena, my childhood friend Elaine, or even my right-hand man?”

Images flashed showing the mysterious figure embracing one woman at a time, and then eventually the music grew so loud and the screen showed the lone figure once more as the words never alone appeared once more as a title and in tacky, cursive writing. It was definitely a soap opera.

“Stay tuned for the alternate ending. If I end up alone, there’s no point in even breathing.”

Golden eyes gleamed brighter than before, a faint smirk outlining on its features just as the screen went black.

Yosuke’s right eye twitched slightly at first before he started to fill with panic. The sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs signaled that Teddie had also seen every second of what just played.

“Y-Y-Y-Yosukeeeee!”

“I know Ted.”

A ringtone shot through the room and Yosuke instantly picked it up.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!”

“Chie-“

“I’M ABOUT TO GO TO BED AND NARUKAMI-KUN IS ON THE TV IN THIS SOAP OPERA-“

“Chie, calm-“

It sounded like the phone was being pulled away. A second later a calmer voice was on the line.

“Yosuke?”

“Yukiko?”

“Sorry I was staying over here tonight.”

“Oh right.”

“My own cell is already ringing from Kanji and now Rise. I think we all just need to meet up now.”

“Me and Teddie are on our way.”

Yosuke hung up. Already moving across his room to gather the necessary equipment just as he looked over at the blonde.

“Suit up; we have to go see what the hell is going on with Yu.”

“On it~kuma!”

It wasn’t to say Yosuke was annoyed again; he just hated returning to Junes not even an hour after leaving the place. Careful to avoid suspicion, they managed to sneak into the electronics area and jump into the TV without any issue.

The moment they were in the central area and Teddie began to figure out what direction to start heading, Yosuke grew nervous.

The anxious feeling had been in him ever since the night before when the TV first showed his best friend. And now, it was all real. He was somewhere in the TV, his life possibly at risk. He knew that the other had more than enough means to survive given his talented abilities in battle, but it was more so that they all knew what a shadow-self can do to you.

It can fuck up your mind. No matter how calm and collected you might seem, it can find the one thing to say that is your deepest secret. Something you would never want anyone else to know or to see and it can **always** twist the words in a way that just _make_ you want to scream. It makes you want to scream that one phrase that increases the risk of your life ending by ten-fold.

Knowing Yu he was always calm and collected, he had that way of staying in control of most situations. But the gut feeling Yosuke had right now; it was saying that it might not be the case here.

“It should be up ahead~kuma!”

Their glasses allowed them to see every feature of the house that looked exactly like the Dojima residence. It made an eerie feeling fall over the group, especially when the lights were even on inside.

“I’m really not liking this guys.” Chie mumbled as they began to approach the building a little slower than before.

They hadn’t encountered a single shadow yet. Usually there was some sort of resistance on the way to the area or while in the dungeon. But this was much too small to be a dungeon, or so they though.

Once they entered inside, the immediately glanced around to see no threat or any sign of their leader on the first floor. Moving up the stairs, they opened the door that would’ve led to his room, but in only ended up being another set of stairs.

“What the hell, this is Senpai’s room right?” Kanji was looking between the door and at the new set of stairs like it was completely out of place because it was.

Rise activated her persona, letting the sensors run for a moment to accurately survey the area. “It’s a trait of the dungeon. It looks like there are ten floors here.”

“Well as long as there aren’t any shadows then I guess it’s fine.” Yukiko saw the others nod in agreement as they started up the set of stairs to end up back in the living room again.

It felt like going in circles, almost to the extent that it made a few of them dizzy. But when they were finally reaching the last floor, everyone could feel how the rising tension in the air grew to an all-time high. The floor was much darker, but there was a light at the top of the stairs.

Steadily moving up the stairs, Yosuke took to the front, almost desperate to at least see that his friend was okay. He had his kunais at the ready, almost half-expecting some sort of dirty trick to be played as soon as they neared the bedroom.

“You like this don’t you? You like being close to someone. Don’t worry; I’ll never leave you alone.”

“Partner?”

Everyone stopped before entering the room. The shadow that resembled every fabric of Yu aside from the golden eyes looked over at them. The shadow remained on top of the mirroring image of himself, never moving away as he spoke lowly.

“It seems the show can finally start now.”

Yosuke felt his heart stop when he saw gold eyes stare directly at him. It felt like he was looking right into his soul.


	4. Chapter 4

“You don’t want to be alone right?”

Yu had glanced to brown eyes that were staring a hole through him.

“Stay with me. You don’t need people who will eventually just end up leaving you.” Yu looked at his shadow-self, already sending a look as if to say that would never happen. “And even if they never leave you, you’re going to have to leave them soon.”

Those words made him breathe in uneasily.

“Yu don’t listen to it!” Yosuke was already becoming frantic as he started to charge inside but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Kanji held him back. Everyone else was caught staring at the scene, more so being cautious as to what the shadow might do since he was so close to Yu.

“He’s trying to make you leave me.” The shadow looked over at Yosuke, staring at him intensely again as he continued. “He’s probably the one person who _could_ make you leave me.”

Yosuke looked confused, feeling his heart suddenly stop as he watched the shadow let its hands wonder down over the grey t-shirt that was covering the captive’s body. The way its fingers were moving, they were almost clinging to the fabric every so often, stopping at his hips as he let his golden eyes stare back at grey ones now.

“Don’t-“

“Do you know why he’s the only person who could make you leave me?”

Yu went to open his mouth, words not forming as the shadow kept spilling more things that he had kept hidden.

“It’s because he’s the only one who makes me feel like I’ll never be alone because he’s with me. He’s the only one who makes me happy and scared at the same time.”

The shadow flashed away from Yu so quickly only to reappear by Yosuke’s side and have its hands roaming over him almost desperately. “You’re the only one who makes me scared of death, the only one who makes me scared of losing someone again.”

“I just want to scream out- _don’t ever leave me_.” The cold hands were clinging onto Yosuke’s forearm, dragging him close to his chest. The kunai’s he had been holding were dropped in the sudden action, his body too shocked to move at all.

“That’s not true.”

Yu was slowly starting to lean up from the floor, his body leaning on his knees as he held looked up to see his shadow holding Yosuke close to him.

The rest of the group was stunned, not sure of what to do yet again as another member of their group was now caught up in the embrace of the shadow. The tactic of possibly going for a surprise attack to at least get Yosuke away from it seemed like a bad idea since the shadow could just evaporate back to Yu again in response.

“But it is. He’s what I’ve always wanted _and_ needed.” A cold hand clung onto his hip, keeping him close as the other hand ran down his cheek. Yosuke was at a loss, not sure why he was being so drawn to the words being said all about him.

Yu glared, starting to move up from his knees to a standing position as golden eyes looked over to him, about to speak words that he knew were just a provocation for him.

“It’s because I lov-“

“ ** _No!_** ”

The harsh yell made even the shadow stop in its words. All eyes were on Yu.

“I’m not going to deny you, but I am going to deny the words that you’re saying because they’re only coming from **one** part of me.”

“ _One part of you_?”

The shadow did a 180 in terms of its attitude, the seemingly fragile and desperate shadow turning into a maniacal and hungry-looking fabrication of the truth.

“The part of you that is darker, the part that wishes for things that are selfish and cruel? That’s essentially what a ‘shadow self’ is, isn’t it? Let me broadcast the even darker side to your thoughts or in better words- _of **yourself**_.”

Yu clenched his fist; seeing the shadow’s eyes become wide, a smirk forming on its lips as it gripped tighter onto the body in is grasp.

“If I could, I would kill off anyone or anything that stood between me and keeping _him_ for myself.”

Yosuke was beyond shocked, his body stuck under the gaze of golden eyes, cold touches, and words that were darkening every second.

“I would sacrifice anything to keep what **_I_** want, and I would extract revenge of anyone tried to take anything I wanted **_away_** from _me_.”

The clutching was extreme, digging into his skinny sides as he felt his breath catch in his throat. The shadow leered in, staring deeply at brown eyes. “I know I have power. It drives me to become even more powerful, to stay on top, to keep you all in your place. I want to stay this way, so he’ll always want to have my attention on him, because that’s what he told me he wanted.”

Yu took a step forward, stopping mid-step as his arm reached out as if to silently wish for all the madness to cease. He wanted to yell, to scream, to completely destroy the part of him that was holding so direly onto what he didn’t want in harm’s way. But the remembrance that this was a _part of him_ made him stop, unsure of what to do or say, and unsure of just how he was even going to begin to rectify any of this.

“I’m more than happy to give him all of my attention, in so many ways..”

The shadow began to lean in more, its eyes holding a terrifying gaze as its intent was even worse. Hands raked over Yosuke’s body, running at his back, going lower still, his lips mere inches away just as another yell broke through the small area. Yu completely broke what composure he had, starting to run over to break them apart. Kanji lost his patience in the same instant. His persona appearing and moving to knock away the shadow which only made it disappear to another corner of the room.

Yu practically tackled Yosuke, hovering over him as they stared at one another in a distressed gaze.

“Is that true?”

Yosuke whispered the words, not even processing them accurately as Yu could only close his eyes, his face falling somewhat in shame. He tried to keep himself calm, to find a hold on the situation but kept coming up with nothing. If he denied himself it would get him nowhere, but he felt like he if he didn’t then the tension would keep growing, the taunts growing worse, the words becoming more twisted, and the danger to do something extreme rising to the highest possible level.

With shame in his tone, he uttered the words that he never thought he would speak.

_“No, because that’s not me.”_


	5. Chapter 5

The words were only heard to one other person of the group, but the moment they had life breathed into them the shadow smirked in all its viciousness.

“I’m not you? Then I am myself.”

Everyone stopped as the shadow changed, visibly growing stronger in that moment.

More personas were forced to appear, trying to dodge and execute attacks on the being that was a distorted version of black and grey mixed together. There was no visible form, just a tall blur.

“You said it..” Yosuke’s gaze hadn’t moved an inch from the grey eyes that were staring down at him. “You actually said it.”

“I don’t know what I am anymore.”

**_“No you don’t, because you’re too caught up in trying to find the truth.”_ **

“We all want to find the truth.” Chie yelled back at the shadow as it was shifting to throw more red orbs at them.

“Don’t listen to it Yosuke. It’s not, I don’t-“

“Tell me the truth please.”

Yosuke stared at him almost pleadingly. They were best friends, if they couldn’t even tell each other something like this then all their experiences up to this point had no real meaning to them.

“You mean a lot to me.” Yu’s words were spoken lowly, like a secret that only Yosuke was meant to hear.

“You mean a lot to me too.” The brunette breathed out in response, still quivering slightly from the shock of everything but relaxing a little from how his friend was at least trying to explain everything now.

**_“You mean so much to me; you give me so many thoughts, so many good and terrible thoughts.”_ **

Yu actually broke their gaze, staring away as he felt like something had stabbed him from that underlying confession.

“Terrible thoughts…?” Yosuke was a little scared to actually ask what that meant.

Feeling like he had to speak quickly to avoid his shadow distorting his true thoughts even more, he still kept his gaze cast away as he replied. “I want..you. I want you in ways that aren’t right.”

“Aren’t right? How?”

 “I..lust after you.”

Yosuke felt his breath caught in his throat from the response.

“You..what..”

“I long for you.”

Yu couldn’t stop himself now.

“Ever since I first met you, _really_ met you, I couldn’t understand why I felt so close to you from the start.”

The words wouldn’t stop.

“I can’t imagine how my life would be without you.”

The shadow started to scream, as if to try and intervene, but when the words were spoken it started to falter, stumbling, and the area quaking slightly from its movements.

“I love you.”

Grey eyes had shifted back, staring down at the brunette who was visibly shocked and flustered now.

“My shadow was right in some ways, that I feel so much for you, I don’t want anyone else to have you. I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you. I don’t want to be alone because I always want you with me.”

Yu was pouring his heart out in the moment that he never imagined he would. He always imagined it would’ve at least been romantic, more private, and he would’ve been sure that his friend might’ve felt the same. But that wasn’t how this was at all. It was an almost desperate show of the truth. He hated that it was desecrated to that notion, but he had been backed into a corner without any other choice.

“If you hate me now for all this, I’m sorry. I can’t change how I feel though. I’m sorry…I’m sorry for this being me.” He whispered just barely as he shifted up off the boy. As he rose to a standing position he saw how damaged his shadow had become from his confession and acceptance.

The group stood, waiting for their leader to do or say something.

“Every part of it is me. At some point I have thought all of these things.”

“We all have. We’ve all thought things that we wouldn’t want people to know about.” Yukiko added by means of support just as everyone else trailed in afterward.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of Senpai, we’ve all got our own problems.”

Yu felt the encouraging words help him stare at his shadow as it was slowly fading from the massive blur back into its human-like form.

“I don’t want to be alone.” He started to slowly take a few steps over to the blurring doppelganger of himself. “But I can’t invest myself in just one person either, no matter how much I might feel for them.”

The shadow resumed a look of normalcy at those words. Gold eyes stared into steel-grey as Yu spoke directly to himself.

“You’re me.”

The softest of responses was given in return, only heard by the one standing near the fading figure. “He’s waiting for you.”

Yu turned suddenly, seeing the brunette now standing once again. Past his glasses he could see the way brown eyes were staring at him.

The rest of the group stood still, unsure of just what was going to play out between their two comrades. They started to call back their personas, hardly realizing what was really happening as the duo spoke.

“I don’t like how you hid things from me.”

“I didn’t mean to. I just wasn’t sure how you were going to react.”

“I know I get weirded out over things but..” Yosuke trailed off, seemingly becoming lost as he looked to the side.

Yu decided to finish that train of thought for him by walking over to him, moving his hands to both sides of the boy’s face to gather his attention before he kissed him suddenly. The brunette tensed before his eyes slid shut, hands moving to grab at the boy’s shirt as he returned the kiss and the world was forgotten.

“How did the shadow even get Narukami-kun if he didn’t appear on TV?” The rest of the group was huddled together, talking over the happening just as they noticed the other two pulling apart slightly.

The girls were blushing and unsure of what to say as Kanji looked and then looked away as if to give them privacy. Teddie was giggling softly behind his huge, bear hands.

“I don’t know how to react yet..but I know I got happy when I heard you say that earlier…and I think I kind of love you too..” Yosuke was so new to the emotion; he knew he felt just as much towards the boy though, even if he never had been brave enough to come to terms with it until now.

“I’m happy to hear that..” Yu smiled, leaning his forehead against the other boy’s as they were staring closely at one another for a few moments.

“Oi Senpai, how did you end up here?” Kanji yelled over just as the two pulled back slightly to rejoin the group.

Yosuke stood there blushing as he felt the girl’s eyes on both of them.

“My shadow had apparently gotten strong enough to retrieve me from the real world.”

The group went silent, shocked looks on their features as Yu continued.

“I was just as surprised. It caught me off-guard when I got home this afternoon.”

“Well hopefully a shadow never appears in the real world.” Chie added on as Yu nodded.

“If it does, we’ll just have to be ready.”

Everyone agreed just as they started to head out of the dungeon-like house. A particular two lingered in the back, walking down the steps a bit more slowly than the others.

“So, do you want to come over after this? I can promise my room won’t look like this.”

Yosuke smiled as he felt a hand reaching down to grab onto his own. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“But to avoid any more near-death experiences, how about you agree to tell me things like this from now on?”

“All right. I have _plenty_ to tell you then.” Yu smirked just as Yosuke blushed darkly from the real meaning behind that agreement.

_~ fin._


End file.
